Sunday, October 3, 2010

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

IMG_2544-pola
I've changed.

I don't seem to have the same spark that gave me the power that I used to posses back in first session of uni. Perhaps everything seemed very new to me back then and I had no idea of what was ahead of me. I took risks and took on adventures, like a little child exploring a new backyard. Heck, I fell in love, got fined, hurt myself, got sick and got drunk. I was very wild and happy back then.

And it was great! I met a lot of people and have made heaps of friends.
But when the session ended, everyone left college and I had to stay.
A whole month and a half on my own.

It was boring, and very lonesome.

And I've realized how this changed me.
I've become opaque, off-center, out of focus, gray and quieter. I don't talk to people the same way I used to do. And it seems that I stopped being friends with some people, and I really regret how that has turned out to be. It's just not fair how I've ended up treating people. They deserve more of me as a friend!
I'm not really happy with how my life is right this instant.

But it doesn't mean I'm going to stay like this forever.
Back then I could feel the potential of all my decisions. I could feel the future bending on my fingertips from the very mere change of mind. I could feel the electricity in the air from just being alive and having the ability at hand of being able to shape my future however I wanted.

And the ability is still there, all intact and perfectly functional.
But my senses are damped, I cannot feel it anymore. I cannot feel that sharpness in the air that gave me goosebumps and chills, and opened my eyes to all the endless possibilities ahead of me.
And it saddens me.

I might be a bit depressed, but it ain't anything too serious. I hope.
Just gotta keep carrying on, keep going 'til the show's over. This is just a little trough in my life-plane.
Winter's over, and spring is here, with summer on it's way.


Hey, you know what, fuck that shit, all of it. I ain't going to be restrained by the chains of my own moods. I ain't going to sit here just to contemplate and ponder on what could have been and didn't become true or real. I ain't going to let my own downwards inertia shut me into the darkness of my internal world, I've been there many times and it isn't pretty. It's time for me to come back!

I guess I've gotta apologize...

for breaking the sequence of my blog posting.

for being a douche bag to y'all.

You don't deserve to see the same fricken' page for months on end.
It's a nightmare, and it's boring, and I know. :( I'm kinda sad that some people, some of which who were periodic visitors, have stopped visiting. Fair enough. I would do the same thing to any other blog.


I've gotta start again.


No real problem, I guess.
It's just me again.

Hello! I'm back.

I ain't gone..

IMG_2476-pola

Sorry for disappearing.
Uni's got me busy and the best of me.
I shall be back at least every week.

Much love.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Digital Radio in Sydney

Well folks, these holidays aren't going any faster.
The days outside are cold and wet, meanwhile college is overrun by American tourists who have the interesting pattern of disappearing during the whole day and coming back to college at 2 AM after a time out in the city. And boy, they sure are loud.

Anyway,
My computer has a TV tuner, and so I am able to watch digital TV, which is slowly but progressively catching speed and becoming better and better. Many national broadcasters are now offering HD quality channels. And they bring out new channels quite often too, it's great to see how I'll be killing time these holidays.

But I do not fully endorse TV viewing, I actually enjoy radio a bit better than TV. And as per usual I tune in to SBS everyday to listen to the Spanish broadcast. It's great to listen to something in my native language often, for I really don't want to lose practice and appear as a total foreigner when I come back to visit.

But radio in Australia is changing as well. Not long ago, digital radio has been introduced to the market, and very quickly a lot of radio stations\ appeared or transferred to digital to offer quality broadcasts.

And one of them that has really captured my attention is SBS Chill, a digital exclusive broadcast featuring nothing else but great chill-out and world music. And one time I even heard a bit of Latin Drum 'n Bass. How awesome is that? It really makes my day. I haven't enjoyed listening to a radio station in such a manner since Radio Bondi FM was good. Sadly, I don't have a digital radio (as of yet), but I can still tune in through the website. And what is good is that the broadcast does not rip a large chunk off of my bandwidth and yet still have a sound quality a bit superior to a 128 kbits MP3.

I really enjoy it. Check the SBS Chill site to have a taste of it. Good times.

Keep on chillin'

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Bokeh studies

It's been a while since I last blogged. I'm on holidays now, so I've been busy on a few things. I really want to take more pictures though.. here are a few that I took on a night in the city.

Bokeh 07

Bokeh 02

Bokeh 03

Bokeh 04

Bokeh 06

Monday, June 14, 2010

Exams...

The end-of-semester examinations are here...
I'm getting to the point that I will freak out.
But I'm sure that at least I'll pass everything.

So I won't be on during this week.

It's sooo bad and unfortunate that we've started tests right when the World Cup begins. It's been quite good so far however, I'm really looking forward to see how North Korea competes against the big guns Brazil and Portugal. And I hope Mexico can at least pass onto the next phase.

See you soon in a bit.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

New Blog - Nuevo Blog

It's been a rather long time since I blogged in Spanish. And given that I've realized how active Spanish-speakers are on the internet, not only worldwide but in Australia as well, I've decided to create a blog where I write in Spanish. It will be similar to Dot Counterpoint Dot, but not as artistic, I suppose. It will be mostly focused for Spanish-speakers in Australia and those who live abroad and would like to know more about this country.

Once it's up, I'll see how I adapt myself to own two blogs at a time.

----------------------------------------------

No me acuerdo muy bien de la última vez que escribí en español de manera prolongada desde que terminé el bachillerato. Por eso decidí crear un blog escrito enteramente en español, donde comparto similares historias que escribo en Dot Counterpoint Dot, pero son, más bien, específicamente escritas para hispanohablantes y para aquellos que viven aquí en Australia. Veo que hay bastante actividad de parte de personas que bloguean en español en el internet, así que decidí unirme a ellos con la creación de mi nuevo blog.

Todavía no está listo, pero ahí les va el link:

Mi Vida en Sidney

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Progressing onto the Golden Gate Bridge


View Larger Map


Another Facebook group has been formed in response to the anonymous guy's postcard from San Francisco.
This time, people are gathering at the Golden Gate Bridge to paste print outs from all of the comments posted in the other group, as well as other messages.
This just keeps on showing how many awesome and beautiful people out there are willing to help someone. I'm impressed by how massive this has become, and I express my respect and admiration to everyone who has so far been involved.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Esta noche...

... rezaré.

Please don't jump

Every Sunday I check PostSecret, a blog where postcards with secrets of anonymous senders are posted. It's a blog about the beauty and sadness of our humanity; and it always makes me sad when I visit it, it makes me laugh every time, it makes me feel empowered, it makes me filled with awe, it makes me recoil in horror, it makes me feel guilty, it makes me feel human.

Today, an anonymous sender from San Francisco had his/her postcard featured.
















The postcard has since sparked a lot of reaction from the internet. Emails poured into the PostSecret website in response to the postcard. Twitter reported the creation of a Facebook group in response to this. Since its creation, more than a 1000 people have sent messages pleading the sender to not jump, to give a chance to life and to a better future.

Ending one's own life is the worst mistake one can do, ever. It will not solve any of your problems at all. It will not make the world a better place. Choose life, and you will see the beautiful and great things that you would have otherwise missed out on. I've been there. And I know how hard it is. I've pulled myself from the pits of darkness, and good things have happened to me! But, please man, or gal; please do not jump. For there are many good things in life to come. There is hope. You are not alone. And you do belong. It may not seem so, but there's always a place where you belong to. And if life seems sad and dark to you, at least realize that all it takes is making a few good decisions, sticking around with your friends, letting them know of your problems, and getting help to solve those problems. And you will feel like a million bucks. I do not know you, but please, at least know that there are people out there who care and are willing to help you. I care. Please, for your future's and life's sake, do not jump. BE STRONG. CHOOSE LIFE. DO NOT JUMP.

Please share this link. Join in, and send a message.
Let's just hope that this guy is still around with us, and is aware of what people from all over the world are writing to him, showing him that people care, that he is not alone and that there is hope to solve his issues. It's incredible how the internet just connects such beautiful people to do such wonderful things.

God bless.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Vivid Sydney 2010; curated by Laurie Anderson and Lou Reed

Hmmmm, I knew I should have had a bit more control over my ISO that night. But hey, it was raining, foggy and windy. But regardless of that, the projections are animated! HOW AWESOME! Thanks Laurie and Lou for the show.


Sydney Opera House in Vivid Sydney pt 22

Sydney Opera House in Vivid Sydney pt 13

Sydney Opera House in Vivid Sydney pt 12

Sydney Opera House in Vivid Sydney pt 8

Sydney Opera House in Vivid Sydney pt 9

Sydney Opera House in Vivid Sydney pt 9.5

Sydney Opera House in Vivid Sydney pt 10

Sydney Opera House in Vivid Sydney pt 20

Double Rainbow


Double Rainbow pt 2

Double Rainbow pt 5

Double Rainbow pt 7

Double Rainbow pt 4

Double Rainbow pt 9

Double Rainbow pt 8

Double Rainbow pt 3

¿Sabías que...

... todos nosotros estamos hechos de polvo estelar?

On humanity... and Earth

"So tall... and we built those things?!"

And so we did.

6.8 billion of us over 148,940,000 km^2.

And it's only been, what... 200,000 years?

And we are already sending people out in orbit around and out of our Pale Blue Dot.

And we are already driving our planet to destruction.

Who would have thought that we would even evolve in such a way in the cold vacuum of space?

Heck, who would have thought that we would even exist? For all that matters, Earth's own existence, our own existence and evolution, is a miracle.

Oh cuánto extraño a mi hermano!

Hoy estuve chateando con mi hermano en Facebook.
Está aprendiendo español, y tenía una gran duda sobre cierta conjugación de los verbos, en específico sobre las palabras ponerse, llegar a ser, convertirse, quedarse, volverse, etcétera.

No soy el experto en gramática del idioma español, (él está aprendiendo el castellano) pero aún así intenté explicarle algunas cosas. En fin, una fracción de la discusión fue así:

P: han intententado ensenarmelo

pero

JODER!

es tan dificil

Dejame dar un ejemplo


N: Adelante


P:espera

llegar a ser es como

MIERDA!

no

eso no es


N: Jajaj


Y vaya que me reí, ese chavo ya aprendió un chingo. Y solo han sido 7 meses desde que llegó a la Península Ibérica. Voy a rezar por él hoy.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Another discovery

Wow, I've been going discovery after discovery these past weeks. All because of the Vivid Sydney Festival.

This time, it's something quite different as well. It's a band of throat singers called Chirgilchin. These guys come from the very heart of Central Asia, at the very southernmost tip of Russia near Mongolia. The guys themselves don't look Russian at all, but a bit Mongol I suppose. Their music is very entrancing because it is just something that I've never heard before in my life. They use their throats to take advantage of resonant effects of the passing air when they exhale. In other more descriptive words, they practically whistle with their throats.

Now, it's not really your normal kind of whistling. But rather of a very bizarre kind. Instead of air resonating from within the mouth, like normal whistling, throat singing uses the entire air tract from the mouth, larynx and voice box to resonate air. Just listen to it:



I just find it really interesting how charmingly happy those guys are with their music, even if it sounds so weird.

I really thank Vivid Sydney for introducing me to this kind of stuff. Every month I realize how much music I really want to buy, and I sadly look at myself in my present economic situation. Go P2P for the WIN.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

It's always the same story, all the time

Well,
I believe I have put myself once again in doubt of myself.
What a neurotic, existentialist hedonist I am.

I guess I don't know where I'm heading to, what's my next step.

Of course, there was always a direction to go to. There was always an arrow pointing to the barren lands of Down Under, but once I got here and finally picked myself up from the shock of coming to these quirky lands, I am not sure where to go anymore.

The arrow should be pointing somewhere,
but I don't know where.
Heck, I can't even see if there is an arrow anymore.

Sometimes I get the feeling that my life will end soon.
It is not an expression of suicide, fear not. Please. Enough of that stuff anyway.
But I just can't imagine myself graduating from university. Or even getting my career on track, or even owning my own car and house. Getting married, having kids. Paying mortgage, paying debt (my worst nightmare). I just can't imagine myself doing it!
And I have this feeling that somewhere along the line, I will never get to do those things. It is foolish of me.

It sounds just weird, but I just wouldn't know how the hell to do things. I finally can drive legally (fuck yeah), and started uni, but there is just quite a range of things that are assumed as common for Australians of my age that I cannot even do, that I may have no idea about.

It's always been like that, even when I arrived here, I had no idea of how to deal with things, partly people, but mostly about how different things are run here. And I always feel disadvantaged in that respect.

And I know it's bitchy to comment on this sort of stuff online, and even specifically on my blog. But what the hell. That's the first thing I found when I came into my room. Gotta get my head a bit organized. Then I suppose I can sleep a bit better at night.

Friday, May 28, 2010

New discovery

Hello people.
I am in much better health than before, but I'm still not fully 100% back.

Just today I discovered a Japanese band: Boris. What a band name. And yes, by Japanese I don't only mean that they are awesome, absolutely insane to the extent that our western music standards of craziness are nothing in comparison to what those japs do every single day and consider the norm. Yep, you guessed it, they are from Japan. Damn! What a surprise...

Ok, no. They are something quite extra special, since they were invited to be featured artists in the Vivid Sydney Festival run this year. I discovered them in a brochure of the festival during breakfast. It featured all three members of the band holding double-necked guitars. And I thought: "Wow, that looks soo cool. I wonder what their music is like." I checked their MySpace site, and listened to their tracks.

I got blown away by firstly listening to this one:


And then, the floodgates open and I am completely entranced by the incredible sound they produce, even if they only have three members, even if there was actually only one double-necked guitar (the poster was deceiving!!):


I'm now addicted to their music. In less than 13 hours. It has been incredible!! I'm already considering buying music from my free-shipment music shop site of preference. Wow, damn, wwwwooooww!!! Really hot stuff right there.

And yeah, now I'm trying to get a job. The barista option is too unstable, too unfrequent, perhaps the nightfill shifts may come in handy once again. God it's that time coming back again.

I'll see ya peeps later, keep rocking.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

10 days of rain

It's been quite a while since I last posted.


Winter is approaching fast, and the air is crisp and tight around us.
And it has been raining down really hard. It's a bit too wet for a Southern-Hemisphere autumn in Sydney.

Sometimes it seems that the sound of water is a glimpse of the voice of nature.
Droplets pounding gently on the car, while you wait inside for someone.
The splashing from our feet onto puddles.
The fine touches of rain onto our face.

But sometimes we forget about what it all means.
Of course, our immediate minds focus on heading to shelter.
But that is nothing in comparison to the magnitude of the world.

Some say that water has memory..
and that it holds special powers.
Don't you see how sometimes, all that we need is a shower or bath to get us relaxed?
And sometimes, where urbanization has sprawled over ancient water routes, floods go through those same spots again without failing.

It's been raining too much.
Now I'm sick.

For some reason I feel like listening to Moby.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

And those three words



This is possibly one of the most interesting music videos I've seen in the past months. The music, an interesting mix of house and pop, with a very slight hint of trance, is pretty cool. I normally look at "commercial" music as tasteless, but I guess I just take things in music with a very biased perspective, but every now and again, there is some good stuff out there. Of course, and taking into consideration the present nature of the artistic world at the moment, some of the music that is currently popular is just outrageous and ridiculous.

I guess what got me in this video is the visuals. The splitting images, the blending of the camera shots, and how everything seems to sit so naturally in place even if the cameras move in opposite direction, makes this video quite pleasing and engaging to the mind. It's like a diptych, but just with video. The creative part of myself is trying to piece the things together, trying to form some sort of meaning out of the plain but odd room featured there, with the people twirling around and with the very plastic appearance of the singers. But it may just not have any sense at all. Meh, it happens. It's art.

Monday, May 10, 2010

No fue tal y cómo lo pensaba

Cambio de planes!
Aquellos interesantes cambios y momentos que pensé que iba a tener quizás no van a suceder dentro de algo de tiempo. Y quizás con otra compañía, alguien diferente.

Al menos ya parte de mis broncas se han resuelto,

y estoy ocupándome de más y más cosas: exámenes, tareas, etcétera. Muchas cosas como siempre. Sabía que la universidad iba a ser algo laborioso, pero creo que mis estimaciones al principio eran más inferiores a lo que en realidad estoy haciendo en la actualidad.

Lo bueno es que mis opciones se han abierto otra vez. Y de nueva cuenta vuelvo a aquella fase existencial del "pues, me gustaría salir con alguien". Te podría contar en cientos de palabras lo que mi mente está interpretando de mi presente estado, pero no tengo el tiempo (y quizás tú no tendrás el tiempo tampoco de leer).

Pero, ahora me pregunto, ¿a quién le estoy escribiendo?
No importa, el blog deberá seguir adelante, de pie, y creciendo con más nuevo contenido.
Cuídense todos.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Cuando el silencio impera y solo las miradas hablan

Su propia belleza

define un color único y propio.

Sus curvas demuestran la verdadera promesa.

No sé a quién le debo rezar

cuando la luz cambia de curso alrededor de aquellos contornos.



Translated excerpt from "Quiet Now", by Daedelus

Ballads of the distances and times pt.1

Sometimes,
there is just fog all around you


and you can't see what is ahead,



sometimes you can't even see your own hands,




Ver mapa más grande


but you just can't stop going forward.

There could be a sharp bend right ahead.
Or a blockade. Or a dead end.


And you can't stop thinking about it.


Your                      mind
    overflows
             with
                 the
                    fear
               about
            the
absolute               unknown     .             


But regardless of that,

you should stay on the road.

And keep charging forward through the mist.


Grip the
tar
mac

and feel       
the         wind
brushing by you.

Let it
tell you where
everyone's destinies
collide and fuse;

where life begins and ends,
and where you lie
in the event horizon
                        
of
your own       miraculous,     brief  
                                            and
                                            impermanent
                                            existence.

Friday, April 30, 2010

Me acuerdo...

muy bien de aquellos días que me parecían tan mundanos. Nunca pensé que llegaría a tales extremos del planeta, y que viviese todo lo que vivido aquí. Y yo que todos los días, de lunes a viernes, me fui por esta misma calle para crear el futuro que estoy viviendo tan intensamente en el presente. Ni idea tenía en aquel entonces.


Ver mapa más grande

A veces pienso que el pasado que tuve fue malo, y que por mis malos hábitos pasé una adolescencia muy limitada y lenta. Lo que nunca me imaginé es que por mis esfuerzos yo pudiera llegar a estas tierras lejanas, vivir como nunca y ser exitoso. Uno a veces no tiene idea del efecto que tienen nuestras decisiones hasta el momento en que llegan a toda potencia. Pues así es la vida.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

The perils of a university student: update

Things have turned out ok now.
I am still worried about how it is all going to work in the end.
I've been allowed to stay back in college during the mid year break, so I have the convenience of being near the places where I am currently seeking employment during the break.

But I'll be having to pay the college fees back with whatever money I produce from those jobs. I might end up having to work two jobs, plus all the university workload.

Now, I think I'll just have to get someone to help me get my breath back. My mind just shriveled up with the ideas of being stuck alone, with no money. I'm glad things have worked out for the better.

Oh dear

My biggest fear has finally arrived.
And I'm quite unprepared for it.

Totally broke, with no home to return to. Parents hating me, and no source of income.
This end of session is going to be quite interesting.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Monday, April 26, 2010

Lo sé

Sé que se ha adentrado, más de lo que yo me imaginaba, en lo que yo pienso, siento y vivo.
Este sitio sí que ha obtenido un propósito muy diferente al original.

Solo espero que me acepte tal cual y como soy.

Tal cual como yo la aceptaré tal cual y como es.

Estoy a punto de entrar a lo desconocido. Y  va a ser muy interesante.

No me importa si al fin y al cabo todo termina siendo un fracaso, como ha sucedido anteriormente. Esta vez he aprendido mucho, y aunque dolerá bastante, no dejaré que la furia y la tristeza me hagan inútil.

Lo que uno hace por el amor. Qué tan interesantes se vuelven nuestras vidas en torno a eso.

Esperen importantes cambios al sitio!

La verdad, no me lo esperaba

Qué pasó

The sharpness of the air

is no clear announcement of the excitement

up ahead.


We come together,
and dance,
and laugh,
and sing.

And the world seems better everyday.

IMG_2579

Spread your wings
in front of me.
Open up.

I knew you were an angel already,

everytime

as I watched

you

walk away

everyday
and disappeared from my sight,
but remained standing next to me
in my heart.

And the world seems better,
oh it just gets so much better
every time I see you.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Oh well

I guess the only thing that I don't like about winter here in Sydney is that the air just gets so dry. (I know it's not winter yet, but it's coming!!)

My hands get really dry, my skin becomes flaky and very fragile.
I will get really small cuts within my skin, and it will hurt.

I guess my skin is just accustomed to being enveloped by constant humidity.

Me pregunto...

Sé que cada una de nuestras acciones tiene un efecto, ya sea minúsculo o de gran magnitud, en el futuro.

Siento que algunas cosas que voy a hacer pronto van a cambiar el futuro.

Y de gran manera.

El problema es que mi mente se llenará de las casi infinitas posibilidades de cómo el futuro inmediato sucederá. Siento que mi cabeza va a explotar por sobrellenarse.

Underneath


Sé que si todo resulta como todos deseamos, seremos felices. Y pasaremos todos un buen rato. Y en el futuro nos sentaremos a hablar sobre nuestro pasado y diremos: "Pues, estoy muy satisfecho y muy feliz por cómo resultó todo aquello, aquel momento, aquel instante en que me dijiste eso, o hiciste eso, en que todo el mundo cambió. Te lo agradezco sobremanera."

Sé que si no todo resulta como queríamos, aquello se establecerá permanentemente en nuestra memoria. Será como uno de aquellos recuerdos de tipo: "Oye, ¿te acuerdas cuando te dije eso? Me hubiera gustado si no hubiera hecho, o dicho, eso en ese momento, de tal manera. Lo siento.".

A veces puedo apreciar cómo las circunstancias del pasado llegan a colisionar en un mismo instante en el presente, y cómo pueden llegar a distorsionar el futuro completamente.

Lo que tenga que suceder, sucederá. No hay que temer.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

You might not expect this, but

I really like winter.

The sharpness of the air to the skin, eyes and nose is quite revitalizing to me.
Coming from a tropical country, and from a place that was quite humid almost all of the time, I really like winter! It's just so great!

And you know what, Sydney would be such a romantic city if it snowed here. Of course, just about everyone here has no idea how to drive on snow or ice, so it would be rather dangerous and messy. It would be quite chaotic. Even in such chaos, life would still look beautiful from the outside.

I mean, just imagine, walking through George St on the way to CQ, and wearing a thick coat and a scarf, maybe a beanie or earmuffs, and mittens!, and seeing the snow on the side of the street, and snowflakes gently and ever so slowly falling from above, and steam coming out from our mouths as we speak, and couples coming out of cafes, holding hands and walking next to each other, and seeing the Opera House surrounded by snow, it would be so beautiful!!

Yet again, a lot of people don't like the idea of having Sydney covered in snow. It would be BAD news, considering how climate change is affecting the entire planet.

But it won't make me stop loving that particular season!

Perhaps the most evil techno music ever



I know a lot of people that would never talk to me again for posting this. I honestly do not like this particular kind of music (I love techno, but not of this kind of techno). Having to wake at 4.30 in the morning to this music induced psychological trauma to many of us in college, so the song has been burned into our brains. I think that it is a very tasteless piece of work. But my comments make no difference; these guys, The Bloody Beetroots, are insanely famous all over the world. And I do have to admit, this is a very good song to dance/rave to. But it is still a very evil song. Very evil.

In the many concerts they have played, they always see the same thing every time: massive crowds of people jumping in unison, like one single body. Now that is just insane but awesomely cool. The many youtube videos out there of their concerts are proof of it.

There is one thing...

... that I haven't been able to do recently.

And that is, to take good pictures!

It's not that I'm a perfectionist, just that I want to take better pictures. : /
I'm still kind of experimental, but I want to get my photo-vibe back!

The real part, or the imaginary one?

IMG_2707


I've got this friend of mine;

She's one of the most intelligent and curious persons that I've ever met. Living away from the CRAZY environment of college which I currently live in, she's pretty much the most dedicated person that I've come across these past months. I learn from her, almost everyday, of how I should be doing things, and of herself.

I guess I'm just blind, maybe I'm just too distracted. Maybe I'm just not doing things right. She seems to be way ahead of me. And I feel guilty.

People tend to call me wise (as a side comment to the fact that I'm ancient), and really smart. But I tend to digress. I am just too negative, and I think way too much, too far, for too long. And I feel guilty.

So then I ask to myself, just as my friend had pondered and expressed (and from which I further analyzed and thought about),
if we are in university, why not work as hard as we possibly can? We were chosen to be part of this great institution for the fact that we are either very hard-working or gifted, or both. It is a bit unnecessary to surrender at the thought that we are bad students, pick up our bags and leave, when we can always do better than we do now. But why revolve around the thought that we are bad students, given that we've gone so far from high school up to here? Of course, it will make us realize that we have made some mistakes along the way and need to catch up. But it is silly to think that, even if we are doing very well, or just well enough, we are still doing badly. Who really knows? The middle range between a bad and a good student is separated by many shades of gray, which are not completely defined however still distinct from the extremes of the domain. Let us stop for a minute, get ourselves rid of the wrong ideas, organize ourselves very precisely and work hard. Seriously, work hard. Because from the work that we do, we are able to move further ahead from the herd, and nibble from the fruits of success. If we trip along the way, we must pick ourselves from the floor, dust ourselves off and pick up speed again. Life and success are up for grabs, why not be the one who grabs them first? We can still work and study our asses off, have the greatest time of our lives, do many things, be employed, fall madly in love, meet new people, pick up a hobby, learn some new skills, and still have our slice of cake.

Nobody said that success came from slacking off.
In any case, what is there to lose? It will be just so much to think in the future that our past efforts really summed up and helped us reach to where we are and enjoy our time here on Earth, than to struggle continuously to the end of the rat race.

The problem is that I have quite a lot of inertia. I am quite lazy >:( and it angers me sometimes.

I thank that friend of mine. I sometimes feel humbled in her presence, for she is my inspiration.
And as I may have mentioned before (or have I not?), I tend to ponder about her quite often. Go ahead, think whatever you want regarding that last comment. I DARE YOU.

'Nuff said! IMMA CLEAN THIS MESS NOW

Los fantasmas me persiguen

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There are ghosts of my past life still appearing in my present life.

My mind sometimes evokes them from what I see everyday. The people I talk to, the people I see, the things I hear, say and do. Those ghosts live shortly in my consciousness and eventually evaporate.

But on occasions, I actually come across them, in real life, on the way to a lecture, passing by me. I don't know if they notice me, in fact I don't really care if they do. I see them, and the devils inside me laugh. I'd be damned, sometimes life sucks when I remember stuff related to them. However, sometimes life is great when seeing them reminds me of good times. It really varies depending on who I see.

And then I realize just how meaningless it is to feel put down by the mere presence of some of those ghosts. Regardless of the past conflicts I may have shared with them, those people cannot beat me. It doesn't matter if they aren't actually there, within my field of vision, even if it's just a mirage or deja vu. My mind lives so far away from them already, that they can't do anything. But then, my mind sometimes shows out the burden of past experiences related to them, and I understand. Whatever happened, happened. But the scars will remain there.

I guess those ghosts will continue appearing as I go through the years, reminding me of the good and bad things of life. Telling me of my mistakes and successes. Showing me that the world is actually much more complicated than I ever imagined.

God bless those ghosts, for they have constructed the person that I am today.

Peri to the neum

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I shall not succumb to the devils raging inside me

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As the night falls

and darkness is penciled into my eyes

the devils come out

and dance upon my flesh.

They rip my heart into pieces

and shred my box of emotions into fine dust.

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Although there is a storm inside my head,

my body remains still, silent.

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Only my hands are those in motion, grasping everything in their path:

hair

skin

nails

blankets

clothes.

As if they were trying to catch those devils.

As if my fingers were trying to find a meaning to all of this.

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But eventually, the storms recede, and light enters my eyes once again.

And the world is at peace again.

I shall not succumb to the devils raging inside me.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Hey Guys

Sorry for being absent for a while, not uploading new pictures nor writing anything interesting lately.
I've been having the craziest week in quiet a while.
Details later.

Exams are on, so I won't be back 'til around the end of the weekend. Maybe.

Have your daily apple, drink your juice; have a good, fulfilling breakfast and stretch.
Best of all, smile and let the Sun kiss you.


Bye for now.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Humph

That was the most expensive week I've had ever since I moved over here.
$141 gone! BOOM! POOF!
Those parking rangers are a bunch of nazis, fining me at 9:11 AM, I wasn't even awake then! (oh wait, I actually was!)

Oh, dear. Now I hope CentreLink can give me a hand.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Physics exam

I have to kill it, before it kills me first.

>:D

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Y tú, ¿qué piensas?

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A veces me lo preguntas en los momentos más inesperados, de la nada.
Pero sé que tus intenciones son buenas, y sólo quieres saber más del torbellino de ideas que tengo en la cabeza.

Y te lo agradezco. Yo también me pregunto de vez en cuando qué es lo que tienes ahí adentro.

Yo guardo mis sentimientos temporalmente en una cajita de madera, justo a lado de mi corazón. La mayoría de las veces dejo que las emociones salgan de la caja al mundo exterior, y las comparto. Es bello verlos revolotear en el aire y a veces quedarse dentro de las cajas de otras personas.

Pero cuando me preguntas qué es lo que pienso, solamente puedo pensar en la caja y su contenido. Y luego me tengo que inventar una mentira ahí en ese mismo instante. Detesto mentirte.

De vez en cuando, cuando abro la caja, se siente bien porque sé que aquellos que escuchan son gente amistosa y amable.

Y tú, ¿qué piensas? ¿Qué es lo que tus ojos ven? ¿Qué es lo que tus oídos perciben? ¿Qué es lo que tu lengua saborea? ¿Qué es lo que tu piel siente? ¿Qué dice tu corazón?

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Monday, April 12, 2010

Eres

Village Green from College

Mr. and Mrs. Compost



Bibio is one of my favorite acoustic-electronic one-man bands in my collection.
And that's just a sample of his beginnings, when he worked with lo-fi technology and progressively merged onto fully electronic but experimental music. Really good stuff.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Oh! We love Philip Glass. We love Philip Glass. We love Philip Glass.

I just realized...
that I could use my music collection as a weapon to annoy people real bad. Philip Glass could make a real impact on the group (and my reputation), oh dear.

It's not that my music collection is bad. Philip Glass, among the other contemporary composers that I feature in my library (Steve Reich, Terry Riley, Hans Otte, John Cage, Arvo Part, etc.), is quite an incredible artist. But you need some serious heavy-duty mental gear to go through the entirety of his pieces, because they are absolutely NUTS. And not boringly nuts, but rather 'why the hell do you even listen to this?' kind of nuts.

It's a good thing, however, that some people in my group have heard of Philip Glass before.

sigh..

Back to work...

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Ghhrrrr!!!

Exams are coming soon, and I'm very worried!!
Specially physics, I'm really really screwed! X( But everything else is all right. I guess I'm just being too negative, and I'm drinking too much coffee, which makes me think even more negatively (and strangely as well)!

Oh, the vicious cycles I put myself into.



And I hate ads that come in my comments! Random people just come by to drop in an ad as a comment..why????? It's a good thing that I can moderate and delete comments as I please. But Blogger will never be as cool as WordPress anyway (why did I just say that?).

Bye for now, for I have plenty of work to do.

New Addition!

Temporarily, I'll have the text cloud as my blog symbol instead of the fish-eye shot of the Opera House.

Of course, this is only temporary, although I might change the cloud layout and colors. New variations! That would be pretty nice, I guess. But then I'll have to choose a picture that will stay there for a long time.

This was done with the web app Tagxedo at http://www.tagxedo.com/ It allows you to create some pretty cool tag clouds from whatever individual text or text from a website you want. Go check it out.

Hasta pronto.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Another dream...

IMG_8640I slept for nearly 10 hours (god, I'm such a sinner) after working with a friend to work out a switch for an engineering project last night. It was a complete success.

I dreamt of being in Chile. CHILE. I've never ever been to that part of the world, although I'd like to go an visit some time. But somehow, I knew I was in Chile. And I remember driving over gravel roads in what seemed to be jeep of sorts. The view was amazing. The city looked very picturesque, and the people looked southern-american enough. And people talked in their corresponding chilean-accent. So I knew for sure that I was there.

However, in that beauty and charm, the people appeared sad and depressed. I remember talking to this butcher, who was a bit busy at the moment when I approached him, 'Sí, disculpa, le atiendo en un segundo' (Yes, I'm sorry, just a minute). I realized that when food appears in my dreams I'm hungry in real life. But that's not the point. Everyone around me looked really down and sad, even if they were living in an idyllic location. The butcher sounded really distant in tone, however was respectful and served me appropriately afterwards.

And later I came across a family of Americans, who were living their lives joyfully and without regard of anyone else. Of course, I approached a few of the family members and learned that they originated from a state that starts with M...Montana?.. Minnesota? Something like that. There were some kids there, and a bunch of guys in bright red and navy blue American football suits, with their helmets on, all ready to play. One of the kids there had a red flashlight, with my name on it! I then just asked her, 'Hey, that's mine, give it back.' I've never owned a red flashlight before, but this one in particular had my name written on labels all over it.

It seemed like the Sun was about to disappear into the horizon. It's that kind of feeling when the sky is bright but the Earth is dark, when the air is sharp and full of energy as if getting ready to let the night settle in. It was strange feeling.

Then I could hear beats, as those coming from dance songs, entering my dream. (people were playing music in rooms adjacent or near to mine).
I knew it was time to wake up, it was freaking late.
And I knew I was starving.


>>Unrelated, but today I just heard news that The Chemical Brothers are going to launch a new album on 7th June. I'm so excited!! I can't wait to hear what new sounds those electronic music masters have created, they never cease to amuse me album after album.

Monday, April 5, 2010

This world is pretty


Qué canción más bonita.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Para alguien especial

This is proof that there exists beauty and purity in the thin border between silence and sound. Despite there being no orchestra or anything major playing throughout the whole piece, making it minimalist in appearance, the subtle and few in quantity piano notes manage to evoke an emotion so deep into our souls unlike any other sound; it's just overwhelming.

Just turn any distraction away from you, shut your eyes and let the music carry you away through an emotional journey of sound.



If this isn't beautiful, then I don't know what is.
This was Fur Alina, by Arvo Pärt.


It was one of those days when it's a minute away from snowing and there's this electricity in the air, you can almost hear it. And this bag was, like, dancing with me. Like a little kid begging me to play with it. For fifteen minutes. And that's the day I knew there was this entire life behind things, and... this incredibly benevolent force, that wanted me to know there was no reason to be afraid, ever. Video's a poor excuse, I know. But it helps me remember... and I need to remember... Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world I feel like I can't take it, like my heart's going to cave in.

         Ricky Fitts, American Beauty (1999)

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Why? + A history on my blogging

As an internet citizen, and as a person that likes to share things, I've been writing on several blogs throughout the years. Each of them carrying similar purposes, such as photographs or simply as a place for me to share my thoughts.

But on occasions, when I share my blog to people, they sometimes ask me a question that I am still very undecided on how to answer. They would see my blog and appreciate the content and all, and then they would ask why I blog. 'Why do you blog?' I've been blogging for about five years now (wow, 5 years) and it's kind of hard for me to actually look back and try to find a purpose to everything that I've done.

Why do I blog?

Blogging for me at first was a means for me to share, and as a way for me to learn more about the internet. Back in 2005, the internet was expanding exponentially and really fast, so I thought it would be awesome to actually have a website for myself. And so it was for a while. But my beginnings as a blogger were rather inconsistent, and it was hard for a while to be able to blog constantly. I just didn't have the proper flow of thoughts to keep on going.

My first presence in the blogsphere was with 'The Newoz Complements'. It had no real purpose, but rather it was a space for me to vent in during my angsty teenage years. I guess it was from me actually using the website so much, and how obscure everything eventually became, that I decided to create a cleaner version of my first blog. The new blog was 'The Seconds, the Times and Moments of Newoz' (yeah, Newoz is my internet alias). This time I decided to be much more flexible/accessible in my way of writing and actually having a proper purpose for the site. I got my first digital camera, so I started to upload a few pictures, at a very slow pace. The website still contained a lot of obscure terms and bizarre ideas and stuff.

It was only just before 2007 when I started to upload my pictures in larger quantities that I decided to start my first photoblog. I had gathered enough pictures to fill entire posts. Then I chagned 'TS,tTaMoN' to 'Meta-W', which is to this day my kinda main photoblog. I attracted the majority of my traffic into Meta-W and it was quite a great blog. But then I started to feel like actually sharing my thoughts, rather than just pictures.

As the HSC approached, I took less pictures, and I stopped uploading pictures to Meta-W. Instead, I opened a new blog, this same blog. The blog's title is inspired from three-piece works by Steve Reich. He had composed various variations of the 'Counterpoint' theme with 'New York Counterpoint', 'Electric Counterpoint' and 'Vermont Counterpoint', I think. They are all very unique and awesome works. The purpose of 'Dot Couterpoint Dot' was for me to not only share my photographs, but to also have a space where I could expose my ideas to everyone.

Anyway, 'Dot Counterpoint Dot' didn't take off full speed until nearly 10 months after its creation. I blogged in it every once in a while, and then went ballistic when the HSC ended. As of then, I've been blogging for the sake of sharing my thoughts and experiences with people, along with my photography and other things I've made. I guess I can also, in a sense, open up a bit with my blog posting. Of course, as some may have realized, that I've gotten a bit waaay too open here, exposing a bit of the depths of myself. But then again, consider that I've been living on my own, really alone, for four months. What can a man do with an active mind in a prison cell and only a piece of paper and a pencil? It nearly drove me mad.

So then, today, when people ask me why I blog, I can't still even define the purpose of my blogging. I guess it is for myself, to form my digital entity and to share my thoughts to the world. I've met plenty of people, had considerable amounts of traffic through my blogging years, but I don't think I've ever been so successful before now that I have 'Dot Counterpoint Dot' as my main blog. 'Meta-W' still has the really old posts from my second blog, so sometimes I look back and realize what a tool I was as a teenager hahaha, and what a bad blogger I was. I guess I could restart Meta-W, but I haven't been taking good enough pictures lately. I sort of lost my touch in photography :(

I wonder what's going to be my new frontier in blogging. I'm really happy with ".Counterpoint.", but I guess I could do a bit more things with it.

Ok, now my room's a complete mess. As the Sun moves towards the north as the winter months approach, I'll try to have a different room layout to harness solar heat.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Interestingly...

I am able to check from where some visits to my website originate from (button on the sidebar, has a graphic of a squiggly line around a blue sphere), and I am a bit amazed by how some people actually come across my blog.

One of the ways for people to find this is by a single Google search on a phrase in Spanish: "la mujer más triste del mundo". In English it means 'the saddest woman on Earth'. I've only used that phrase once in the title of one of my posts, back in 2009. I don't even know if that woman that I saw such a long time ago was actually sad, or was just having a rough day. I don't know.

But ever since I wrote that post, about +10 people from many places on Earth, mosly South America, have come to my website.

It's a bit strange having my blog found in a Google Search through such a depressive idea.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Problem...

Bad news guys, bad news.
A few dozens of posts ago, before I started this new chapter of my life in UNSW, I had a chest infection. It had developed from a bacterial infection that sparked a brief fever, and then pains in the thorax. I then had an antibiotic treatment, which seemed to be quite successful.

And it was all good and perfect until one day in the gym I realized my breathing pattern was very bizarre. I was on the treadmill and suddenly realized that my breathing, instead of being fast and rushy as it should be while running, was actually very slow, like normal breathing speed. But I would have to breathe in and exhale heaps of air. A med student, friend of mine, suggested I go to the doctor, in case the previous chest infection was still active and doing more harm.

I didn't go immediately. I had a pretty messy week and then had a cold, namely Fresher Fever. It went away relatively quick, but then I've had this cough and mucus problem. I don't feel sick at all, but I just cough up crap quite often. And it bothers me quite a lot since I cannot speak properly sometimes without first coughing.

I went to the doctor today and did the routine check up of the lungs and stuff. After some further analysis the doctor declared that I have pneumonia. Shit. The bacteria from last time were still very well and alive and messing up with my system, but even more. That explains the second cold, and why I'm still coughing.

This is really bad.

I'll be having further analysis, such as X-ray, to determine the severity of my affliction. And I will then go through the entirety of the treatment, which I think includes vaccines and antibiotics. But it seems pretty bad though. A month after the first infection is enough time for the bacteria to make a pretty bad mess of my lungs. We'll see how this develops. I just hopes it doesn't worsen and it doesn't interfere with my studies here at uni. God damn.

Yeah.
God Dammit. It's just ridiculous how one single thing can bring the future down to the ground.














HAPPY APRIL FOOLS DAY PEOPLE!!! I LOVE YOU PEOPLE!!!!! XDDDDDDDDDDDDD
I actually have a resurgence of asthma, which I had for a while when I was a tiny tiny person with no judgment and a brain like a sponge. Not much of a problem for me, I'll just have to carry this puffer around, and yeah, but meh. :)
It's all good people! XD

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

The Knack

Yeah,
my parents were quite glad to show me this as the HSC was approaching.
I crack up laughing every time I see it.
Now it's a phrase that we use(d) at home, say when I am needed to fix something that requires some technological skill of sorts. People would start yelling out "he's got the knack!" I thought it would be funny to share it with you guys/gals.

But isn't it great to be/becoming one?

I love my oldies

:D

Monday, March 29, 2010

Si me entiendes, quítate la camiseta

HMMMMM

Just about the only few things that currently bother me about blogging are:
> discovering ridiculous typos and bizarre grammar structure in previously submitted posts;
> writing huge posts of text with no images;
> the fact that I have to pay for uploading stuff, namely my pictures;
> that Blogger isn't WordPress.

Future post sneak-peek: The question with a complicated answer, Why do you blog?

Sunday, March 28, 2010

tres seis cinco (365)

When I started uploading my photographs onto Flickr, I thought that perhaps doing a photography project would be a fine way on perfecting my skills as an amateur photographer.
And one day I came across a photography project called the 365 Project.
Basically, it's all about taking a picture of yourself, a self-portrait to be precise, every day for an entire year.
It sounds like a great idea at first, but then it becomes a struggle to keep it up as the weeks go by and things happen and come along in the way.

I have to admit it.
I totally suck at taking portraits. But most of my suckiness is because I never really got the chance to actually do it, to actually test my skills and learn about such photographic format.

But the 365 project gave me an idea of how to do it. The only difference from normal portraiture is that I was the subject. So I had to learn about and appreciate my body and face from a photographer's perspective. Too bad I'm not photogenic.

It was a bit hard at first, then it went along smoothly, but then it went bad towards the end.
As I started university, I completely broke off from the project's rules. I stopped taking pictures of myself, I just didn't have the time to do it properly.

However, I learned quite a lot about the art of portraits within the scope of photography. It was quite a lot of fun, but it wasn't easy. I'd like to think that I am now able to take a portrait of another person, but I seriously just wouldn't know for sure. It'll just have to happen one day for me to realize of what I've learned.

Hence, I give you a few samples, perhaps the ones that turned out good, of the project that I began on the 19th of August 2009, and abruptly finished on the 29th of February 2010. Enjoy.





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